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About the summit

The 2022 Kansas Mental Health Summit took place April 13 and 14 in Topeka. It featured local and national speakers who educated and informed more than 600 participants about how each stakeholder in the process can help improve the court’s response to mental health issues. Speakers are listed on a summit fact sheet

This initiative emanates from the National Judicial Task Force to Examine State Courts’ Response to Mental Illness, a collaboration of the National Center for State Courts, the Conference of Chief Justices, the Conference of State Court Administrators, and the State Justice Institute.

Primary Issues and Focus of the Task Force

Summit agenda
 

Summit resources

Sessions listed below are to identify summit resources with their source. Refer to the full agenda for all sessions. 


April 13 

9 a.m.–​9:45 a.m.

Video: Welcome and Opening Remarks
Governor Laura Kelly, Kansas 
Senate President Ty Masterson
House Speaker Ron Ryckman
Chief Justice Marla Luckert

9:45 a.m.–10:35 a.m.

Video: Judicial Leadership: The Story of Miami-Dade County, Florida 
Judge Steven Leifman, Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida

Eleventh Judicial Circuit Criminal Mental Health Project
Jail diversion: the Miami model
Just and Well: Rethinking How States Approach Competency
Outcomes of the Miami-Dad County Forensic Alternative Center
Miami-Dade Forensic Alternative Center Pilot Program Status Report
Miami-Dade County Grand Jury Report
Decriminalizing Mental Illness: The Miami Model

11 a.m.–noon

Video: Stepping Up Kansas 
Audra Goldsmith, Senior Policy Analyst, The Council of State Governments Justice Center

Presentation: Stepping Up Kansas

1–2:15 p.m.

Video: National and Local Initiatives to Improve the Justice System Response to Mental Illness

Moderator
Patti Tobias, Principal Court Management Consultant, National Center for State Courts

Panel
Rep. Brenda Landwehr, Chairperson, Special Committee on Mental Health Modernization and Reform 
Judge Michael Russell, Wyandotte County District Court
Marc Bennett, Sedgwick County District Attorney; Chair, Criminal Justice Reform Commission
Dr. Shawna Wright, Subcommittee Chair, Governor’s Behavioral Health Services Planning Council (also works at KU Center for TeleHealth and TeleMedicine)

National Judicial Task Force to Examine State Courts' Response to Mental Illness Brochure 
Governor's Behavioral Health Services Planning Council 
Behavioral Health Court Phase Chart 
Wyandotte County District Court Behavioral Health Court 
Douglas County Behavioral Health Court

12:45 p.m.–1 p.m.

Video: Dr. Shaun Tyrance, afternoon opening remarks

2:45 p.m.–4 p.m.

Video: After Arrest. From Intercept 2 (initial detention) to Intercept 5 (community corrections) including competency exams

Moderator
Dr. Debra A. Pinals, Professor, University of Michigan, Psychiatry, Medical School; Clinical Adjunct Professor, Law School

Panel
Judge Sally Pokorny, Douglas County District Court
Shanelle Dupree, Regional Director Department for Children and Families; Chair, Juvenile Justice Oversight Committee
Lesia Dipman, Superintendent Larned State Hospital
Patti Tobias, Principal Court Management Consultant, National Center for State Courts

Presentation by Larned State Hospital

Kansas Department for Children and Families Mobile Crisis Hotline


April 14

8:15 a.m.–8:30 a.m. 

Video: Ryan Lefebvre, Kansas City Royals Broadcaster, morning opening remarks


8:30 a.m.–9:30 a.m.

Video: The Ideal Crisis System: Strategies for Mental Health and Law Enforcement Collaboration to Prevent Justice Involvement
Dr. Margie Balfour, Chief of Quality and Clinical Innovation, Connections Health Solutions; Associate Professor of Psychiatry, University of Arizona 

Presentation by Dr. Margie Balfour

10 a.m.–11 a.m.

Video: Early Intervention, Deflection, and Diversion. From the Public Health System to Intercept 0 (community services) and 1 (law enforcement)

Moderator 
Tim DeWeese, Director of Johnson County Mental Health; member of the National Task Force to Examine State Courts’ Response to Mental Illness

Panel
Sheriff Jeffrey Easter, Sedgwick County Sheriff
Lane Mangels, Police Instructor, Kansas University Law Enforcement Training Center
Brynne Haverkamp, Pawnee Mental Health Services and Riley County Police Department
Dr. Margie Balfour

Mental Health Overview: Sedgwick County Kansas

 

Other resources

From the National Judicial Task Force

Leading Reform: Competence to Stand Trial Systems
A New Model for Collaborative Court and Community Caseflow Management
Collaborative Court and Community Diversion for Individuals with Behavioral Health Needs
Mental Health: Facts in Brief


From the Kansas Criminal Justice Reform Commission

Report of the Kansas Criminal Justice Reform Commission to the 2021 Legislature
Report of the Kansas Criminal Justice Reform Commission to the 2020 Legislature


From the Juvenile Justice Oversight Committee

Juvenile Justice Oversight Committee 2021 Annual Report


From the Kansas Reflector 

Panels on crimianl justice reform, pretrial justice hone in on diversion tactics by Noah Taborda


From Riley County

Riley County Police Department Mental Health Co-Responders
Riley County Mental Health Task Force
Crisis Services and Crisis Stabilization Unit


From the American Psychiatric Association

Cops, Clinicians, or Both? Collaborative Approaches to Responding to Behavioral Health Emergencies (policy paper)
Cops, Clinicians, or Both? Collaborative Approaches to Responding to Behavioral Health Emergencies (podcast)



Kansas District Map

Find a District Court